Northwestern dashes Illinois' bowl hopes with 27-10 victory

John Supinie

Sunday

Nov 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 23, 2008 at 11:02 PM

Mercifully, Northwestern finished off Illinois 27-10 Saturday, putting an end to a season that went nowhere fast. The Illini fell from the Rose Bowl to no bowl, failing to post their first back-to-back winning seasons in 16 years and the first consecutive bowl trips in 18 years.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the referee uttered a message over his microphone.

"End this thing, will ya?'' he said.

Mercifully, Northwestern finished off Illinois 27-10 here Saturday, putting an end to a season that went nowhere fast. The Illini fell from the Rose Bowl to no bowl, failing to post their first back-to-back winning seasons in 16 years and the first consecutive bowl trips in 18 years.

One season after nearly everything went right on a trip to Pasadena, the Illini couldn't figure out what's missing.

"I wish I knew the answer,'' said Illinois coach Ron Zook. "There's no question there's been something missing. I wish I knew the difference (from last year). Everybody wants to know why. No one wants to know why more than myself. We may never find out.

"People will say the program has slipped back. It hasn't slipped back. This program is still going full steam ahead.''

An offense that sizzled in the season's first half fizzled down the stretch. Through the first seven games, Illinois' offense compiled 450 total yards or more in five games while also scoring 42 points or more four times. In the last five games, Illinois hit 450 yards once and scored more than 17 points only once.

The hecklers already took aim at the fading Illini before they left Ryan Field, and everyone wondered if Illinois had turned back the clock.

"It's a process,'' said Illini linebacker Brit Miller. "We weren't at the peak of the mountain last year. We had a great group of guys who played together. We had a couple guys who could really play. The team chemistry was great. This year, there were a lot of things that held us back.

"The last two games got away from us. There was never a time that we ever took the field and thought, 'We ain't winning today.' That was the pre-Rose Bowl Illini that was incapable of winning games.''

With an Insight Bowl rep keeping an eye on Illinois, the Illini finished with a 5-7 record overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Illinois ended the season with a three-game losing streak and fell four wins short of last season.

Playing with a bowl berth on the line, Illinois was a no-show in the first half. They stumbled in the first half against the Wildcats, falling behind 13-0 at halftime. The Illini managed only 86 yards, only 15 coming on the ground, before a second-half rally.

"For whatever reason, we underachieved as a team, an offense and myself as a play-caller,'' said Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who confirmed he interviewed for the head coaching position at Clemson. "You have tough sledding trying to get the running game going. We had trouble protecting, and the quarterback made terrible decisions. It's my job to get in back in sync.''

Quarterback Juice Williams directed Illinois on an 80-yard touchdown drive to begin the third quarter, and Illinois pulled to within 16-10 on a 21-yard field goal by Matt Eller with 12 minutes 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But Illinois allowed a 51-yard punt return to the Illini 20-yard line, and Northwestern senior Eric Peterman caught an 18-yard touchdown pass two plays later for a 24-10 lead. When Williams fumbled at the Illini 44 on the ensuing possession, the Illini were home for the holidays.

The pain hit Williams worse than 2006, when the Illini finished with two victories.

"All the hard work we put into this season and the type of talent this year, we're not going out there and showing what we're capable of doing,'' said Williams, who was sacked five times. "We have to come out ready to play every week. Good teams come out and showcase their talent on Saturday. We have to do that every week.

"It's something we have to do. It starts in February (workouts) and spring ball. It's something we're going to attack next year.''

Northwestern's (9-3, 5-3) short passing game carved up an Illini defense playing without safety Donsay Hardeman (neck) and linebacker Martez Wilson (suspension).

Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bacher passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns, including 162 yards in the first half. Senior receiver Eric Peterman had eight catches for 111 yards and one touchdown. After losing to Illinois in last year's regular-season finale to end bowl hopes, the Wildcats returned with a hunger.

"It just pushed the envelope a little bit,'' Peterman said. "It gave us a sense of urgency that we just need to finish everything we do. It's something we talk about all the time, and it's something we didn't do last year.''

Maybe that's the answer for Zook.

NOTES: Illinois backup quarterback Eddie McGee was only available if Williams suffered an injury, because McGee had a broken left hand, Zook said. … The Illini failed to score in the first half for the first time in the last two seasons. … Miller finished as the leading tackler in the Big Ten with 132. … Northwestern junior Sherrick McManis grabbed his second interception of the season in the second quarter.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

Illinois report card

Offense: F

Here's the checklist for next season: Get the Illini running again. Make sure quarterback Juice Williams makes plays with his arm and his feet. Don't turn the ball over. The 10 points were a season low. Running backs Daniel Dufrene and Jason Ford accounted for 21 yards rushing.

Defense: D

The Illini slowed down Northwestern in the second half, but the Wildcats sliced the Illini for 162 yards passing before halftime. Illinois must rebuild at linebacker. Safety Donsay Hardeman, who missed the game with a neck injury, could be the leader the Illini need on defense next season.

Special teams: F

Northwestern's 51-yard punt return in the fourth quarter finished this one. Somebody tell us why the special teams are this bad.

Overall: F

With a bowl game on the line, Illinois didn't show up in the first half, couldn't rally in the second half and went home empty-handed. The Illini fell from the Rose Bowl to no bowl, and a season that began with so much promise ended with so many questions and bitterness from the orange-and-blue nation.

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